False Confidence
by Anastasia Pierce
Summary: Nathan, the infatuated guard of the church who helped Katherine escape, comes back to Mystic Falls to get his revenge on the Salvatore brothers for Katherine's fixation to them. This occurence causes Elena to admit how she feels about Damon.
1. Prologue: Unwise Infatuation

_Summary: Nathan, the infatuated guard of the church who helped Katherine escape, comes back to Mystic Falls to avenge the Salvatore brothers for Katherine's fixation to them in 1864. This occurence causes Elena to admit to herself, Damon, and Stefan how she really feels about Damon. Set after the Season Finale, at the start of the next school year._

_Prologue: Unwise Infatuation_

_Mystic Falls, 1864_

Fire blazed in the night as the vampires were rounded up to be properly disposed of. The citizens of the town grouped in small clusters to stay safe from the 'demons of the night'. Could anyone understand how the frightened, fragile humans won the battle between them and the vampires? As they say, 'Strength comes in numbers'.

Nathan Brown whispered a silent prayer to the sky in hope that one of the demons might be spared. Life was meaningless to him without the feeling the sight of those dazzlingly warm brown eyes brought him. He knew the woman was not his to love, but he couldn't control his obsession.

Not only did he love Katherine Pierce, but her species was fascinating to him. He always wondered how it might be to live forever. The problem of killing humans to stay sated was tolerable if it meant spending eternity with her.

The carriages were drawing near, causing Nathan's heart to come to a standstill. Shadows flickered across the dull gray exterior of the church, causing the night to seem even more haunted than it was in reality. He stood diligently at the entrance and watched as the people were about to drag the weakened Katherine into the church along with the other demons.

He felt the tears burn down his face as he realized he could help her escape.

The plan formed into his head quickly, and without another thought, he shouted and hid behind the bushes at the entry. Everyone turned towards the noise, which bought him enough time to unlock Katherine's bindings. He stuffed the master key all men of the Council were given, and caught the other vampire's eye - Pearl, that's what her name was. He widened his eyes and gave her a pleading look. He didn't have enough time to see if she acknowledged it or not - the men were coming back hastily.

Nathan held on to Katherine's waist and half dragged her out of sight.

He summoned up all of his courage and spoke to her with a firm tone. "You owe me, Miss Katherine."

She coughed and spoke in her wonderful voice. "Of course, sir," Her beautiful eyes watched him steadily. "What shall be your reward?"

He thought of everything he wanted from this woman, but found his deepest desire was unexpected.

"Turn me into a vampire."


	2. Chapter 1: Unbearable Infuriation

_Disclaimer: I do not own the Vampire Diaries or any of it's characters..._

* * *

_Unbearable Infuriation_

The room was twisting and turning, churning his stomach and forcing vomit to spill out of his mouth. His nose wrinkled when the smell hit him, the revolting scent almost making him vomit again. He wrenched his eyelids open and discovered the throw-up covered him from his dirt crusted t-shirt to his bare feet. He looked around and spotted a jug of beer in the corner. He reached until he could pick it up, then guzzled it down, immune to the taste after all these years.

Every inch of him was miserable. The door to the bar's single bathroom slammed open, crushing his foot in the process. He rolled his eyes up to the man standing there, staring at him as if he pitied him.

"Mmmason! What an _honest pleasure_ to see you today!" Nathan spurted out.

"Dude, you really need to get a life." Mason said, perfectly serious.

Nathan widened his eyes, then grinned. "How can I get a life, when I'm dead?" Then, he went into a fit of chuckles. "You know… because I'm dead and life…" He continued chuckling.

Mason kicked him in his mouth, shooting blood everywhere.

"What the-"

"Look," Mason started. "I've gotten word that a certain somebody you love so dearly has returned to this area. Now, I don't want you to go ballistic when you hear this, because you'll just get your sensitive heartbroken again, but I knew you'd hear the rumors soon. I'm being you're friend in saying that you're a heartbroken loser that needed to get over himself 150 years ago, so don't take it the wrong way."

Nathan didn't hear a word he said after he spoke of the visitor that he loved. "Who?" He stood up, then staggered to the door, slipping on the vomit and crashing into the toilet.

Mason took one look at him, shook his head, and as he was walking away, said. "Katherine's in Mystic Falls."

* * *

The noise of the priest speaking was becoming more and more distant as Elena looked out onto the graves. She's been there before, at the cemetery, many times so she knew each shape of the headstones surrounding her parents grave. And since she didn't want to think about all the things that happened recently, she started to memorize the names on the headstones as the funeral service continued. She always hoped she wouldn't see another relative or friend being inserted into the ground near her parents' corpses until she was middle-aged or something.

Though she didn't even really like her biological father, John, the look he gave her as he was dying in their kitchen was unbearable. He looked so scared of dying, and the blood that covered everything also caused Elena to pity him.

She continued staring at the graves, then she looked up to see Damon staring at her intently. She blushed, then looked at the coffin that John now took residence in. Stefan and Damon were only there to protect her in case Katherine decided to attack her at the funeral. Both brothers didn't particularly like John, but they would do anything to protect Elena.

After the service was over, Stefan held her to his chest in comfort. Though that's anything but what she felt. She felt guilty in his arms, queasy almost. She didn't understand it though. It must have been the sick feeling she was recently feeling all the time after the Founder's Day disaster. Or it could've been that Damon was talking and flirting with her nonstop since then, dying for Stefan to feel even more jealous than he was - which was pretty hard to do these days.

"Are you all right, Elena? We don't have to go to the Grill if you don't want to…" Stefan whispered.

Elena stepped out of his arms and shook her head. "No, I should go. Relax for a minute, and Jenna and Jeremy are going. I can't leave them alone with John's old college friends."

He nodded, then tilted her head up and brought his mouth down to hers.

Warmth shot through her veins, as usual, but that underlying nauseous feeling swirled in her stomach. She broke away from the kiss subtly and walked back to her car, completely confused.

She drove Stefan to the Grill, with Damon in the backseat. It was completely packed with people, with not one seat available. So they went to the bar, Damon ordering a scotch while Stefan stroked her hair. He was still trying to comfort her, but she wasn't really sad or grieving. He must have known that something was off between them lately.

Caroline came up to them at the bar and started talking to Stefan, leaving Elena to sit there with Damon.

"Come on, Elena - cheer up! I mean John's finally dead, this is a celebration."

"Ugh, I was recently told that he was my father and before that I always saw him as my uncle. His death is not a celebration." Elena retorted.

"Look me in the eye and tell me that you liked him, even a little." Damon stared at her, but she couldn't say the words. "See? The man was wicked and the irony is that now he's dead by his puppeteer's hands."

"What do you mean?"

"Katherine was one of the reason's he did bad things, right? So because of her, in both realistically and that he had it coming because he was going bad, he died."

"Okay… Sometime you think too much Damon." She lowered her voice. "And most of the time you don't think enough."

"Hey-"

"Hey, you guys didn't get a seat?" Caroline cut in before Damon could finish.

Elena smiled and shook her head.

"Well you can sit with me. My mom went off to work and Matt's busing tables here. And since it's packed I haven't talked to him since."

"Uh…" Elena looked over at Stefan, who nodded. "Sure, why not? Are you coming, Damon?"

Damon glanced over at the three of them, shook his head with a grimace, and went back to his drink.

While walking to Caroline's table, though, Tyler bumped into Matt, who was lugging a full container of dishes and cups. Tyler didn't even try to catch the container before it crashed on the ground, glass flying everywhere. Stefan pushed Elena behind him to block the glass, and even Damon came over to see what happened. Tyler shrugged and began walking away before Matt grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back.

Caroline shifted in the middle of them and moved her arms, palms up, to each of the boys chests. Tyler ignored Caroline's defense and swung out at Matt. Instead of hitting him, though, he struck Caroline, sending her sprawling onto the ground with blood pouring from her nose.

Matt dropped down beside her, brushing her hair from her face, shocked. Elena knew he was extra protective around her lately because of her concussion, especially around Tyler. This must have been his greatest fear. After the shock wore off, Matt jumped up to look around for Tyler, but he already left.

Stefan was about to go after him, but Elena held him in place. If Tyler was becoming violently angry because of the simplest situations, then anything Stefan would say or do could set him off. The best thing any of them could do is let him cool down before tomorrow, which was the first day of school. If he starts any more fights, especially at school, there could be problems. Especially because he was expected to be the next mayor as of his father's death.

Elena knew he couldn't hold his erratic anger for long, though.

* * *

A woman with spiky magenta hair and bright blue eyes stared at the altercation from behind one of the restaurant's dark corners. She almost smiled. It was some of her best work, intensifying his emotions. Though this was only meant as a distraction for her supervisor, she took great pleasure in twisting people into unrecognizable individuals.

This werewolf was pretty easy to make angry, though. His emotions were already going crazy from the transformation that must have been coming soon for him.

Anyway, the Coven would be proud of Lila's work, maybe even supplying her with a bonus. She was barely coping with just this job, but the other witches said this work was a priority. Lila really didn't mind, though. Getting paid to curse people and throw towns into hysteria was a win-win situation.

* * *

She was wandering around, looking for something to snack on. All of this planning was really heightening her appetite. Katherine strolled by, seeing a young man come out of the Grill hastily. She followed him around to the next corner, but he kept staying clear of the alleys.

She kept her distance from him, but she just wanted to feed quickly. She could hear his heart beat in time with his steps, the blood flowing through his neck. And she could smell him, his sweet fragrance wafted around her like a drug. After he was walked at least a mile to his house, did she comprehend something. She recognized the mayor's house and realized the boy she was following must have been the mayor's son.

She grasped this lucky moment of hers, knowing if she killed the boy, the Council would panic. It would be truly ironic that the 'animal' that was killing so many people in this town would accidentally find and feed from the people who created such rumors' children.

Katherine saw him pause, hands grasping his own head, as in pain. He punched one of the nearby trees, and so she seized the moment. She sped up to him, bending his head back harshly, and sunk her teeth deep within his neck.


	3. Chapter 2: Uncomplicated Lies

_Disclaimer: Ahem, though I do _so_ hate to repeat myself: I don't own the magnificently created Vampire Diaries [or any of it's beautiful characters (meaning Damon... sigh)]_

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Uncomplicated Lies

Katherine took one taste of his blood, and almost gagged. His scent was so pure and addictive, but his blood tasted like muddy water. It was thin and watery almost. She threw him away, just not to vomit on him. After spitting out every drop from her mouth, she grabbed the boy, who was making a weak attempt at escaping, and covered his mouth with her hand.

He must have been some kind of werewolf or something - the taste didn't make her weak, only gag, so it wasn't vervaine. Of course, if the boy's father was the mayor - that probably meant he was a Lockwood. And the Lockwood's had a genetic trait of becoming werewolves.

The problem was she couldn't think of what she should do with him: killing him by sucking him dry would make her sick and killing him by breaking his neck wouldn't show the Council it was her who did it. So she did what was reasonable - made the punctures in his neck more recognizable, and then threw him into a nearby tree. The trunk was thick enough to do some damage, but he wouldn't be killed. He also could recollect what happened to him, letting the Council know what happened.

The sound of his skull slamming into the bark was only a dull thud - he seemed to have a hard head, so there would be minimal damage. And no one would come see what happened until morning when they realized he didn't come home.

She turned away from the boy's limp body and went back to the town square to have the meal she was still hungry for.

* * *

Elena woke to the bittersweet sound of her alarm clock buzzing. The light coming from the window threw her off - it was _way_ too early to get up. It looked like the sun didn't even rise yet. Even though she was still half asleep, she lugged herself out of bed, got a quick shower, got dressed, and stomped down the stairs to the kitchen.

Jeremy was there, eating toast and watching TV from the counter. She bit her lip as she passed him, refusing to say 'good morning'. She knew she was not helping the situation by making their relationship any tenser than it was in the first place, but his lies were so much worse than hers.

The first time Stefan came over her house since Founder's Day, about a week after it; he could smell blood in the house which led to Jeremy's room. Jeremy was keeping bags of blood in his mini-fridge, making it apparent that he was turned. After she confronted him, he told her everything.

She still wasn't ready to forgive him for it, but knew there was absolutely no way to reverse what happened. And he was now a new vampire, making him dangerous to everyone at school. Of course, Elena begged him not to go to school for a couple of months, but he refused even though she reminded him he'd turn out like Vicki, harming the ones he cared about.

She dumped cereal and splashed some milk into a bowl, staring at the TV. She wasn't actually watching it as the newscasters talked on and on, because her mind was a million miles away. Thinking about Stefan and Damon and Jeremy and Jenna. How was she supposed to tell Jenna that she (her brother-in-law's brother's daughter/boyfriend's ex-wife's daughter) was dating a vampire and that her nephew was a vampire? She ran through all of the expressions Jenna would show if Elena told her that - confusion, disbelief, worry that Elena was crazy. She couldn't tell her yet.

As she was thinking that, Jenna walked into the kitchen and sighed. "Looks like there's another animal attack. I thought they already caught the animal."

Elena followed her gaze back to the TV and saw that there was indeed another attack. Then the reporter showed a picture of the two victims - Elena's English teacher and Tyler Lockwood.

She jogged up the stairs to her backpack and rummaged through until she found her cell phone, holding down speed dial number two.

"Elena?" Stefan's voice said after the second ring."What's wrong?"

"Stefan, there was another animal attack-"

"We know. We're getting on it right now."

"She killed Tyler?"

"No, she only injured him. He's in the hospital with a mild concussion. Look, Elena, I don't know if you should go to school today, it's not safe-"

"If Jeremy's going, then I'm going."

He sighed. "Okay, just be careful on the way and I'll meet you there."

She nodded, and then realized he couldn't see her. "Okay."

"I love you."

She rolled her eyes. "I love you too, Stefan. Good-bye."

After hanging up, she tossed the phone onto her bed and lay down next to it. _What a great start to my senior year. _

* * *

After looking everywhere for Bonnie and Caroline in the halls, Elena gave up and went to homeroom. She looked across the room from her seat to find Bonnie, who was staring at the new teacher in the front of the room, looking puzzled. Elena followed her gaze to see the teacher looked like she was twenty-five. Mystic Falls High School, though, never hires teachers younger than forty.

Elena watched at the teacher in confusion, and as if feeling her gaze, the teacher looked up from her desk at fixed her stare right at Elena. Her almond-shaped eyes were piercing blue, and as she took off her hat, Elena was shocked to find she must have dyed her hair a deep magenta. She could hear her classmate's excitement that their new teacher was probably laid-back, but it was only background noise to her erratic heartbeat. She didn't understand why, even as she looked away from the teacher, fear coursed through her.

The teacher scrawled her name onto the board in all caps, which read: LILA CAVANAUGH. As the bell was ringing, she turned from the board to stare at the papers on the desk in front of her.

"Hello, I am your new English teacher, seeing that your former teacher was eaten by an animal. You pronounce my name as LIE-la CAV-eh-naw, but to you I am Miss Cavanaugh, nothing else."

As Miss Cavanaugh droned on about English Literature, Elena spaced out into her thoughts again.

* * *

Later, after finishing her homework after school (which was torture because who gets homework on their first day?), she remembered that she had forgotten to meet Stefan before school that morning. So after dinner, around seven, Elena jumped into her car and drove to the boarding house.

Pulling up to the mansion, she saw that his bedroom light was on and paced to the door. She quietly stepped up the stairs, trying to surprise him, when she saw his door was open.

He was laying on his bed, with his arms spread across the pillows. Straddling him was what seemed to be herself, with her hands on his chest and lips molded into his.

Elena backed away from the door and crept down the stairs slowly, unshed tears stinging her eyes. Tears of anger, though, because how could Stefan not recognize that the girl kissing him wasn't herself but Katherine?

She threw the front door open and sped down the steps, slamming directly into Damon. One look at her told him something was wrong. She tried to wipe her expression off and seem mildly surprised, but it wasn't helping that Damon was staring at her so intimately, so prodding that her chest felt like it was about to cave in from the pressure.

She couldn't swallow her tears passed the giant lump that formed in her throat, sending stinging prickles up and down her raw throat. Only after Damon stroked the edge of her cheek, murmuring her name, did she give in, collapsing into his chest. He smoothed out and stroked her dark curls before slipping his callused hands on her back. After mumbling about how everything was alright, he gave in and said something about deciding to do something more useful.

Elena could feel him lift her off of the ground bridal-style, could smell the clean scent of his dark gray tee, and could hear his steps as he slowly walked to her car and buckled her into the passenger seat; though her thoughts were on how empty her heartfelt - not because of Stefan's mistake, but because of her lack of concern. Because she didn't feel anything besides a mild hurt.

She glanced out the window to see they were pulling into her driveway. The house looked deserted - all of the lights were off - meaning Jenna and Jeremy were probably out. Unless, of course, Jeremy thought the prototypical vampire's actions was the way to go…

Damon was about to help her out of the SUV, but she only waved him off. They stepped up the front porch stairs and opened the unlocked door, but before Damon could lead her up the stairs to her room, she led him to the living room. Plunking down on top of the plush sofa, she caught his probing gaze as he sat next to her.

He was still staring at her deeply when he threw his arms around her and snuggled closer to her.

"Well… Isn't this - _cozy_?"

She shook her head, but was secretly relieved to hear the lighthearted Damon again.

"So," He crossed his right foot over his left and shifted into a more comfortable position. "What happened?"

She looked over at him, meeting his piercing blue-eyed gaze, and gave in once again. She told him everything, from the fear of Miss Cavanaugh to the disappointment and hurt Stefan brought. It was like she couldn't stand it anymore, couldn't stand anything. She felt weak and vulnerable as she told him her fears about Jeremy and Jenna, but she couldn't stop her mouth from spilling out each secret she's kept from Stefan and her friends.

After finishing the entirely too long monologue of hers, he just shook his head, muttering. "Well, I didn't mean what happened in the last three months, but whatever."

She hung her head and sighed, hurt he couldn't be serious.

He shook his head, looking over at her expression and seeing how defeated she was. She felt his gaze on her and looked up to see his completely serious expression and how his gaze lingered on her lips. Her mind blanked out, losing all thoughts and guilt at what she was doing.

She was leaning toward her boyfriend's brother, eyes closed and lips parted in expectation as he leaned forward in response.

* * *

**A/N: **Hey you guys, thanks for reviewing and all that jazz... More reviews would help my... ahem, creativity in creating this story so (please) review!


	4. Chapter 3: Unrecognizable Regrets

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Disclaimer: I do not own the Vampire Diaries or any of it's characters.

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Unrecognizable Regrets

Sauntering into the bright, noisy lobby of the closest Marriot to Mystic Falls her employer could find, Lila realized how completely useless and irritating humans could be. She caught the end of one conversation between two fully grown men on the subject of which football team would win tomorrow night. Just the fact that they wanted to predict something that didn't even concern them and their shallow banter was so useless and time-wasting she had to leave the vicinity before she would stab her ears out with those hotel pens lying around everywhere.

Growing up knowing the supernatural powers she held, she always had anything but a normal, human life. Though many of her friends thought witches were just human too, Lila knew they held powers more worthy than the easily weakened vampire and werewolf. They were higher beings that deserved so much more than they were given.

She spotted her employer, him insisting she call him Mr. Brown, in one of the far corners, writing in some kind of leather-bound book. A few steps closer and she realized it must have been a journal. Huh. To think this extremely morbid and almost scary-looking guy was the owner of a diary.

As soon as he caught sight of her, though, he set down the book. She cursed, meaning to catch a glance at what he was writing. He smirked, showing off the full, moist (yes, his devastatingly dreamy appearance even made her think words like _moist_ ) lips he had, and slipped her a jade-colored envelope with no writing on the front, just as he's been doing for the past two weeks. He watched her take it then continued writing in his journal, flipping it so that there was no way she could read it. She only knew him by the writing his letters showed, but boy, were they literature. It might have been that because the guy was gorgeous, she automatically loved anything of his, but still, who wouldn't? Cropped black hair, swirling blue eyes, and the slim frame of an actor all made up Mr. Brown. Of course, a first name would be nice, but she could be patient…

While walking away, she caught a glimpse of him look up from his diary and winked. She felt a blush crawl up her cheeks, clashing with her new hair color. Trying to occupy herself with something else, she ripped open the envelope and took out her new assignment.

A picture of a girl with medium blond hair and a pageant-winning smile who was leaning next to another girl with longer brown hair in curls with mocha skin was the first thing that was in the envelope. They looked like they were at a party at the high school which she recently started to work at. Though she worked at it for the job Mr. Brown gave her, of course. Undercover work was one of the pros of doing what she did. That and the magic, of course.

Next came another cropped picture of a young man with blond hair and blue eyes looking out from a booth in the restaurant nearby. She stuffed the pictures in her coat pocket, digging out the older one of the Tyler boy and throwing it in the trashcan before the sliding doors leading out.

A sheet of paper was last, which specified in Mr. Brown's elegant script the circumstances and time she was supposed to complete this task. Paper-clipped at the end of the sheet was her payment.

She watched the humans in the back parking lot of the crowded hotel, handing around a joint, and shook her head in amusement. Paying to kill yourself, that's what the humans did. Then she looked down at the large sum of money she held and grinned, stalking closer to the teenagers.

* * *

Damon slowly pressed his lips to Elena, with her savoring the soft pressure. She could taste a trace of peppermint on his lips, the sharp flavor spread through her mouth as she tried to deepen the kiss. But Damon didn't want to rush, surprisingly. He just continued slowly, even as she slid her tongue across his bottom lip.

After she couldn't take any more, she slid her hands onto his wide shoulders, reveling in the feel of him, and forced his mouth to open with her tongue. It was like a dam broke forth, causing Damon to groan and wrap his arms around her. He continued to deepen the kiss further, until she could feel him start to push her down onto the couch.

He froze, though, looking toward the door. The deadbolt unlocked as Jenna walked in, with Alaric in tow. Before they could see Damon, though, he took off.

Elena sat up, her mind clearing out the thoughts she ignored while kissing Damon. Guilt pulsed through her, along with a smidge of regret and confusion. Though the passion of the kiss still made her heart beat and her skin heated, she had enough clarity to click on the TV and appear to be watching it before Jenna noticed.

She could hear their laughter move upstairs, leaving to their privacy without even noticing her. She took a deep breath to calm herself, looking around to see if he was lurking anywhere nearby. Disappointment coursed through as she realized he completely left, followed by guilt that she was disappointed. Her emotions were a muddle in her head, clouding every thought that came.

Searching for clarity from her thoughts, she headed toward the French doors leading to the backyard. Opening the doors, a warm summer gale erupted around her, blowing her hair away from her face. She looked at the night sky from the deck that extended from the doors leading to the kitchen, taking up a third of the yard. The sky was half covered in inky clouds, threatening that a thunderstorm will come; the rest was covered in dim stars. The light from the house was making it difficult to see them so she looked around the yard. Taking in the giant and old evergreen tree in the far left corner covered in shadows, she realized there was a dark silhouette under the branches of it. Before she could see who it was, it disappeared.

She turned back to the house, only to be met by him. Damon. His lips quirked into a smile, then before she could say a word, he grasped her arms. When he kissed her, this time he shoved his lips against hers with renewed fervor. She heard the moan, not realizing it was hers, and wrapped her arms around his neck, almost strangling him. He held the small of her back, pulling her closer to him.

This time she could hear the thoughts rampaging through her head like a war. If she didn't stop this and they continued, what would they do? Go up to her bedroom? No, because she couldn't do the same thing Stefan did, but worse because she knew exactly who she was kissing. Yes, she felt hurt by what he did, but that wasn't an excuse to go kissing, and if they continued - sleeping with, his brother.

Neither of them deserved that, especially Damon. She didn't know if she was only making out with him because she wanted to get back at Stefan. No. She wanted to do this for a very long time, though it may have been subconsciously. She knew this because it wasn't pride that she was feeling as his lips began skimming her neck, it was longing and hope that it would continue well past the night.

Elena knew that it couldn't, though, because she would never forgive herself for doing something as stupid as this in the passion of the moment. So she broke away from him when he started kissing her lips again, causing him to look at her in confusion.

"Damon…"

He must have realized she wouldn't go that far, because he tilted her chin up, and then sped away once again. She stepped down onto the bottom step and sat, thinking through what happened that night. A drop skimmed her throat, reminding her of the necklace Stefan gave her; the one Damon was kissing moments ago. Another drop came down, until it was pouring, fitting Elena's mood impeccably.

* * *

Light rain dripped from the windows, the sky was dark with clouds, making it hard for Stefan to know what time of the day or night it was. He ran his hand across the end table next to his bed, searching for his watch. Putting it close to his face, he read the time as 9:45 am.

Pulling himself up, he realized two things: Elena was next to him, sleeping, and Damon was sorting through his papers and letters on his desk.

He pecked Elena on her bare shoulder, and then went over to where his pants lay on the chair next to his desk. Shoving them on, he gave his brother a questioning look.

Damon waved him off. "Don't look at me like that. The door was open and we have bigger problems than your petty jealousy."

Stefan crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Like what, exactly?"

Damon rolled his eyes. "Like maybe the fact that you slept with the enemy and she's lying in that bed. Or that your girlfriend saw you sleeping with that enemy that's lying in that bed."

"I stopped believing you a while-" Stefan froze mid-sentence, thinking of the strange way she acted last night, not remembering anything Elena and him did together. "Oh, no."

They both glanced at the girl on the bed, jumping in surprise when her eyelids opened. Katherine stretched then gave a quizzical gaze when she noticed theirs.

Damon spoke up when he realized Stefan couldn't utter a word. "Get out of this town, Katherine. This is you last warning before we-"

"-What?" She smiled suggestively. "What are you going to do, Damon? Kiss me again?" She saw Damon's expression and laughed. "Yes, that was me, not that replica of me. You really think you can replace me with that sweet and nice human knock-off?"

Before either of them could answer, she sped off, taking her clothes with her.

Stefan walked over to the large window, staring off into the gray fog, miserable. He wasn't even mad at Damon - well, not _yet_ - for thinking he was kissing Elena. Nothing could be worse than not realizing you weren't sleeping with your girlfriend, and having her watch you sleep with someone besides her.

Damon clapped his hand onto Stefan's shoulder. "Wow, we really messed up. Maybe I should brood with you too." He wrapped his arm around Stefan. "We could be the brooding brothers: vampires on a quest to atone for our terrible sins, moping along the way. Hmm, I like it."

Stefan didn't even look at his brother. "Get. Out. Now."

Damon raised his hands, palms forward. "No problem. I'll leave you to your moping."

Stefan took a few minutes to do just that then he set off to his girlfriend's house.

* * *

Elena changed the channel to the news, letting the monotone sound lull her to sleep. Last night, she couldn't. Sleep, that is. Thoughts of Damon, Stefan, and school kept her up until it was five in the morning, and the sun woke her up at around nine.

Now it was ten thirty and she still couldn't get away from the thoughts and emotions that would not go away. She was thankful it was the Friday of Labor Day weekend, so she could sleep in because there was no school.

The doorbell rang just as she was almost asleep, so she went to open the door in a daze. Looking up, she realized it was Stefan. She almost groaned. His hands were stuffed in his pockets and his head was hanging in guilt, but she barely noticed. Guilt for kissing Damon flooded through her, along with guilt that she didn't regret kissing Damon. She was about to shut the door, but Stefan stuck his hand out before she could move it an inch.

He gave her his pleading look. "Can I come in and explain?"

This time she did groan, but opened the door further to let him in. They sat at the kitchen table, in sight of the TV. Neither spoke, they just looked everywhere but at each other. She didn't want to speak about it, because what she did was so much worse than what he did.

After the awkward silence became too much, she sighed and finally spoke. "Look, you really didn't know it was her… You didn't, did you?" He shook his head. "So, there really wasn't anything horrible you did. The only problem here is what I did…"

An image caught the edge of her vision on the TV. It was Caroline and Matt.

"Matt and Caroline."

"You did… Matt and Caroline? Okay, that is a problem." Stefan said.

Elena grabbed his arm. "No, look."

On the news it showed a picture of them then it showed a clip of Matt's car, completely flipped over on the side of the road. It went back to the news anchor, who was explaining that they didn't know the exact cause of the accident, but the rain was a major factor.

Elena stood up from the table, almost knocking it down, grabbed Stefan hand, and ran to the door. The drama between them would have to wait.

* * *

A knock sounded through the small, sterile hospital room. Bonnie turned to see Stefan and Elena walk through the door behind her. She pursued her lips, then turned back to Caroline. She was lying down, completely motionless, on the pure white sheets. Her face was as pale as the white walls surrounding them, and her lips were set in a grimace. There were only a few cuts and bruises on her, Matt taking most of the injuries, but her head wound was ten times worse than the one from the accident in May.

All three of them, Matt, Caroline, and Tyler, were back in this very same hospital. Last time, though, the worst they went away with was extremely mild concussions. This time, each of them was unconscious and was sporting many cuts and bruises.

Elena came up behind her, rubbing her shoulder in comfort. They both knew Caroline was more of Bonnie's friend than Elena's, so it hit her more than Elena.

She turned to Elena, smiling sadly. "I'll leave you guys to your privacy."

Elena shook her head. "No, you don't have to-"

"Yes. I need to get out of this room anyway. I've been in here way too long for comfort." Bonnie walked toward the door then remembered something. "Oh, and I'm sorry for not calling you. I only got the call this morning from Mrs. Forbes, and I just forgot."

"No, it's okay. It's not your fault."

Bonnie gave a half-smile then went on her way toward Matt's room. Looking down on his crumpled form on the bed, she felt tears prickle their way to the edge of her eyelids. He looked so small, covered in bandages and bruises.

She left immediately, searching for the cafeteria. Wandering the almost empty and dark hallways, she saw a figure at the end of the corridor. Thinking it was a nurse, she continued, turning to the right. She froze. At the end of that hallway was the exact same shadow of a figure, and she realized no other doctors or nurses were passing her.

Turning around, she was met with their new English teacher, Miss Cavanaugh.

* * *

**A/N:** Sorry, again, for the wait... Writer's block and vacation will do that. And I really appreciate the reviews, thank you guys for them.


	5. Chapter 4: Unexpected Memories Part I

_Disclaimer: I don't own the Vampire Diaries or any of its spectacular characters._

* * *

_Unexpected Memories - Part I_

Lila was starting to hate these repeating sessions Mr. Brown was putting her through. She was flipping through a magazine left on the table in front of her, just staring, and sometimes laughing at, the pictures it showed. She just took care of the Bonnie girl and was waiting for her payment and next assignment.

She couldn't stand how he just dangled himself in front of her, all seductive-like, and not give her even a hint of finding her the least bit attractive. Couldn't he hire an assistant to give her the payments, or something less cruel than have him do it? His presence was just too intoxicating for her; she couldn't stand being in the same room with him without just jumping him.

Also, if he kept her waiting like this, she would just screw it and quit. No amount of money was worth this torture.

As she was thinking this, her phone buzzed from her pocket. Great. A text from the man himself.

_Meet me in Room 529 of the Marriot. Come quickly._

Oh no, she would _not_ go see what he was talking about. It was too weird - him suddenly inviting her to his _room_. Uh uh, she wouldn't do it. Nope.

She went to the elevator and pressed the up arrow.

She was trying to convince herself that it was purely curiosity. That was it; she just wanted to know what was going on with him suddenly. Yup. She could just peek into the room, see that he was all in one piece and not drunk or suddenly crazy, and leave. Oh, and get her payment and next job.

The elevator dinged and opened. She stepped into the empty elevator and pushed the button with a glowing five. Even though she was just stopping by, she checked herself in the mirror in the elevator. Smudging on lip gloss, checking her teeth, fixing her mascara, the usual.

Stepping out of the open door, she turned herself to the right, checking room numbers and trying to calm herself down. Reaching the door marked **529**, she went to knock, but found it ajar.

Carefully, she walked into the basic hotel room. She looked around to find it way too clean, looking almost deserted. A giant king bed sat in the center, against the far wall, with Mr. Brown laying on it. He was reading a book, all cool, calm, and relaxed-like. Gosh, he was too hot for comfort. His arms were crossed behind his head, stretching his tee up and showing off the skin of his stomach.

He smiled, showing off perfectly straight, white teeth. "Lila, what a pleasure to see you came."

She gulped. Oh man, he had such a deep voice. It was _so_ nice.

Then she noticed she didn't say anything yet. "Um, yeah. Of course I came, Mr. Brown." She waved it off.

He patted the spot next to him on the bed, motioning for her to come. Her mouth went suddenly dry. Sliding onto the king bed, she brushed against the jeans riding dangerously low on his hips.

She moved farther away from him, careful not to touch him again. But, sadly, he did it for her.

He moved closer, caressing the thin fabric of her skirt. "Call me Nathan."

Her eyes were lidded, hungry. "W-What?"

He tilted his head. "You called me Mr. Brown. I said you can call me Nathan from now on, if you want."

Licking her lips, she nodded and leaned closer to him. He grinned and brushed the hair away from her face.

"Do you enjoy reading?"

She blinked. "What?"

He chuckled. "Do you read?"

"Um, well, yeah. But I rarely have the time to."

"What's your favorite book?"

"_The Man in the Iron Mask_."

His eyes widened. "Really? You don't seem the type to read classics."

She shrugged. "I am full of surprises, Nathan."

"I'm starting to get that."

He continued the conversation, shocking Lila. She was ready for him to just start kissing her, she wanted him to, but he just talked to her about himself and asked questions about her. Well into the night, she couldn't take being that near him anymore, so she jumped off of the bed.

He was startled, to say the least. "What's wrong?"

"Uh, bathroom. I have to go to the bathroom."

He blinked then nodded.

Staring at herself in the mirror, she made the decision to just go for it. Checking her appearance, once again, she built up the courage to do so. Opening the door, she watched him sitting there for a moment then pulled herself onto the bed again.

He smiled, watching her move toward him. She took the plunge. Tilting his chin, she pressed her lips to his. Heat coursed through her veins, making her want him closer. She wrapped her arms around his neck, while he shoved her under him on the bed. His lips parted for her, letting her slip her tongue inside. Every part of her was thumping, her heart beating unbearably.

He tugged on her skirt; letting her know what he wanted but checking if she wanted it too. She answered by lifting his shirt off and then unbuckling his belt. Their clothes came off quickly, their desire forcing them to come closer and closer until they couldn't take themselves off of each other.

Lying next to him, afterward, she fell to sleep quickly.

Bright light filtered through the tan curtains. She turned herself over on the bed, looking for Nathan. He was gone, but in his place was a piece of paper.

A description of her next job: _No picture was found, only a name - Elena Gilbert. Average height, long brown hair, and brown eyes._

She gritted her teeth, knowing this would happen. At least on the end table lay her payment.

* * *

Resting her chin on the palm of her hand, Elena contemplated skipping class. The teacher freaked her out, all of her friends weren't there, and she didn't want to talk to Stefan. Every time he looked at her, lately, she felt too guilty for comfort.

As she was thinking this, he walked through the door to the classroom, heading straight for her. She blocked herself off, placing her arm up in his line of sight and looking out of the window. Staring at the tree line, she heard the chair scrape next to her. Peeking over her arm, she saw that it was Stefan, staring intently at her.

She sighed then took a deep breath. "Yes?"

"I am so sorry. Please forgive me? I know we put it off because of Matt and Caroline, but I need to talk to you about this."

She nodded, thinking of a way to distract him and specifically not talk about this. Then again, she knew she had to face it sooner or later. Looking over to him, shame filled her up. The bell rung, and all of the other students quieted around them, but she needed to confess before she wimped out.

"Stefan-"

"Shush. I will not tolerate whispering while a quiz is out." Miss Cavanaugh cut in.

Just as Elena was about to ask which quiz, the student in front of her passed a sheet of paper back toward her. She sighed, forgetting she had a quiz today, so early in the school year.

Staring at the blank spaces, she wondered where Bonnie was. Yesterday she just disappeared after they saw each other at the hospital. Why would she leave like that, without telling them, and then not come to school today?

Filling in an educated guess into each blank, she finished surprisingly quickly. Stepping up to hand it in, she almost tripped because her mind was wandering. She handed the quiz to the teacher, not even paying attention to her when she spoke.

"What?"

Miss Cavanaugh cleared her throat. "You may leave if you wish, because it's last period and I have nothing else planned for today, just don't make me regret it. That goes for all of you: if you finish early, you may leave."

Elena gave a quick smile then darted out of the classroom before Stefan finished. She wandered the halls, slowly weaving through them to get to her locker. She was driving Jeremy home, so she had to wait for him, but she was thankful she didn't have to talk to Stefan after class. She had to face it soon, but she especially needed to calm down before she told him.

Strolling up to the line of lockers that contained hers, she glimpsed a sparkle in the corner of her eye. Leaning next to the corner of the line of lockers, she realized it was a pendant necklace mixed in with the dirt, dust, and trash that were shoved off from the hallway. The long chain of the necklace was silver vines creeping down to the rose quartz pendant.

The bell rung and she made a quick decision to tuck it into her pocket. Students filed into the hall, staring at her until she stood up and ambled to her locker. It felt strange, almost empty, the hallways, because all of her friends were either absent, she felt guilty talking to, she was still angry at, or were hospitalized. Only Jenna was left.

* * *

Lila stared at her student Elena as she clumsily came up to hand in her quiz. She was trying to find a way to kill Elena without people joining together the similarities between the other friends 'accidents'. It was proving to be more difficult than she thought it would be. Elena handed the quiz to her, staring into space.

"You may leave if you want to."

Elena jolted back into reality. "What?"

She cleared her throat, giving a tight-lipped smile. "You may leave if you wish, because it's last period and I have nothing else planned for today, just don't make me regret it. That goes for all of you: if you finish early, you may leave."

Elena grimaced then left the classroom. Because she was the last target, it had to be creative. Sorting through the personal files on her desk, she found something strangely perfect. All she needed was to call someone for the bait.

That night, Lila watched from behind a wide oak tree at the other side of the bridge. She watched each car, truck, and SUV pass quizzically, searching for the right one. After hours of waiting, Elena's car was about to pass the bridge. Motioning for Nathan to do his part, she slowed time down for a moment only for Elena, making sure he got there in time. Humans usually never notice spells like that, and Elena was one of them, already screeching the tires to steer clear of the man lying on the street, appearing dead.

The predictable girl stepped out of her car, about to help the man, when Lila put her part to use. Building up all of her power, she zapped Elena with a laser of sheer white light. Blind, she stumbled back, blocking the light from her eyes with her arm. She was at the edge anyway, so Lila gave a mental push and the girl slid off of the bridge.

The unexpected cry of terror jerked her gaze back to the street.

* * *

**A/N: **So this is the 1st part of the fourth chapter, since it was proving to be way too long. Part II, though, will be out extremely soon. Hope you like it, and if you do - review.


	6. Chapter 4: Unexpected Memories Part II

_Disclaimer: I don't own the Vampire Diaries or any of it's fabulous characters..._

* * *

_Unexpected Memories - Part II_

Watching her fall, Nathan cried out in terror.

Before he realized it himself, he sped toward her, wishing it wasn't actually her. As he was drawing closer, time felt as though it stopped for a moment. He caught a glimpse of the girl again and definitely recognized the soft long brown hair and pouting lips that could only be Katherine. Wrapping his arms around her flailing form, a memory shot through him unexpectedly.

_Looking through the shelves lined with herbs, he watched her curly locks bounce as she darted through the tables, sniffing each mixture. Tea boxes, flowers, and potted plants lined the tables she was weaving through, making the scene seem as though it was a fairytale. Her lips pulled up into a sly smile when she noticed him watching her behind one of the tall bookshelves._

_He wondered if she knew he was the soon-to-be owner of this shop. His father was about to pass it down to him - the firstborn son. He was proud of this fact, and was about to tell the woman this before a man with curly black hair stepped up into the shop. He gave a small bow then took the woman's arm possessively. Giuseppe Salvatore's eldest son, Damon. _

_The woman - Katherine - smiled at him, moving her arm out of his grasp and walking to the steps that exited the establishment. Rain slicked the wooden steps and one of her heels slipped on the first step, causing her to trip._

_Before either Damon or Katherine could realize it, Nathan ran and caught her. Holding her in his arms, he stared into her deep brown eyes and realized how truly deep his feelings for her were._

Warmth spread through him as he watched, with wary eyes, Katherine's eyes widen.

"Katherine." He whispered.

Her eyes grew larger and she shook her head. "No, I'm not-"

He shushed her, caressing her cheek softly as he memorized her every feature. Her smooth skin, alluring dark eyes, and soft lips. Her expression was unusual for her: fear. The only expressions he's seen in her eyes included seductive or anger, never fear or disappointment. He jerked his head as the sound of displaced wind was slowly coming closer. Turning back to Katherine, he tilted her chin and kissed her lips gently. He felt the vampire was next to the bridge, so he sped away.

Weaving through the trees and foliage, he was thankful that he already prepared this. His scent was everywhere in the vicinity, so he only needed his tail to lose sight of him. Turning back, he recognized the vampire as Damon's younger brother - Stefan. Cursing to himself, he jumped onto the closest tree branch. Grabbing hold of the harsh bark, he swung himself around the branch and onto the next tree. Speeding through the leaves and branches, he lost the vampire following him.

He scowled. It seemed like the infatuated Salvatore brothers knew also of Katherine's return. His scowl grew deeper. There was only one person who could have turned them into vampires: the only girl he was fighting for.

* * *

Shivering, not from the cold, Elena huddled into a ball, awaiting the coming blow from Miss Cavanaugh. The bright flash came again, but not toward her. Surprised, she peeked between her fingers on the hand covering her eyes.

Bonnie was standing in the middle of the bridge, staring at Miss Cavanaugh who was suspended in mid-air, frozen. Cobalt light shimmered around both of them, sparkling and glistening. It must have been a sort of enchantment Bonnie used. Relief and pride coursed through her; for Bonnie was not only alive, but she was powerful enough to encase a much older and stronger witch. Her fear slightly dissipated. Though it came back stronger when she turned her head to meet Damon face on. Jumping slightly, she took a deep breath of relief that it was Damon, not the creepy vampire who kissed her, thinking she was Katherine. If she never heard that name again, it would be too soon. Damon started checking for injuries on her, his expression devoid of any humor. Looking up at her, his face softened a little.

"Are you alright?" He said, staring into her eyes.

She bit her lip then nodded.

"Okay… Up you go." He lifted her off of the ground, pressing her close to his chest.

Walking slowly to his car, being careful not to jostle her bruised arm, he looked back to Bonnie, casting her spell. She noticed how strained his jaw was, and filed that to ask him later about it. He gingerly sat her in the passenger seat, speeding over to the driver's side and getting in.

As he started the car, memories flashed behind her eyelids. Thoughts of that day, of seeing the pole guarding the edge of the bridge snap off as the car collided with it, of then hearing and sensing the impact, of feeling without gravity as the car soared over the lake and the smack of the water hitting the front, all became real as she relived the memories over and over again.

She didn't even realize they started driving and that Bonnie was in the back seat with a struggling Miss Cavanaugh beside her. Jumping back to reality, stared questioningly at Damon, who was making a point of staring at the road in front of him. She was then reminded of how Stefan came, not ten minutes ago, and scared that man off.

Clearing her throat, Elena finally spoke aloud. "Where's Stefan?"

Damon's expression went back into his familiar smirk of indifference. "Missing your boyfriend already? That was quick. He chased after psycho-vamp, but he probably won't find him. We're supposed to meet at our house after he finishes." He finally looked at her. "He'll be fine, I'm sure Stefan can take him."

Muffled shouts came from Miss Cavanaugh. Elena turned back and saw her sitting there, eyes wide and mouth unable to move.

She turned back to Damon. "So are you going to explain to me what exactly happened?"

So he did.

Last night, Bonnie was kidnapped by Lila (aka Miss Cavanaugh), and was holed up in a nearby motel. Stefan realized she was missing after school when he went back to the hospital, hoping to sort out his thoughts. After wandering the halls, he realized that Bonnie's scent just… evaporated. They both tracked her scent after searching where it made its reappearance - which happened to be that motel. They found her in the bathroom, in the same non-moving enchantment Bonnie used on Lila tonight. She told them of Lila's plan, knowing this from when Lila bragged to her on the way out, and they came as fast as possible.

Sitting in her driveway, her mind was trying to sort things out to make sense. It wasn't working.

"Look I can walk to my house and get my car, so I can bring Lila to the police." Bonnie said.

Damon was still staring at Elena. "Sure, whatever, witch."

The back door opened, with Stefan standing next to Bonnie. "No, you can't go out there alone." Bonnie was about to protest, but Stefan raise a hand, palm forward. "We all know how powerful you are, Bonnie, but with keeping Lila frozen, it'll make you a weaker target."

Bonnie sighed, lifting herself off of the seat. They both went over to Lila's side and slid her out of the car.

"I'll meet you at our house, after we get Lila to the police station." Stefan said.

After they left and Damon drove away, he looked over to her, winking. "Hmm, now what could we do all alone, with you still traumatized and all from the attack, in a giant house. All alone." He repeated.

Elena was feeling better, enough to roll her eyes at his comment.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for the delay. I thought I would post this sooner, but I had some finishing touches to add to it. Thank you guys for the alerts and reviews. Hope you like it and if you do - review!**


	7. Chapter 5: Unresolved Matters

__

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Vampire Diaries' settings or characters.

* * *

Unresolved Matters

Lila looked through the steel bars of the gate closing her in the temporary prison, thinking to herself in complete silence.

Seriously? They actually thought a _police station_ could keep her imprisoned. Wow. Now she realized what complete fools she was up against, and how now this was personal. Screw the job - she was just going to finish this for revenge. Oh, and to show the idiotic people truly how stupid they really are.

Now all she needed was a plan to get out. With the witch out of the vicinity, it'll be mildly easier. She was taken by surprise before, that being the _only_ reason the little witch got control over her. But this time, the witch will be the one surprised, not Lila. Though that depended on if the witch even got there in time, which she highly doubted. It was a win/win situation, either way.

She sighed, pulling away from the steel bars and easily liquefying them into a pool of molten steel. Stepping over the mess, she watched with a smirk as the officers didn't even notice that she got out. Tilting her head to the side, she manifested beetles the size of a shoe. Watching them come up from the ground, she gave them giant pinchers, to go along with the terrifying size, of course. They scattered across the station, crawling to each of the police officer's cubicles.

That's when the screaming started.

Passing the men with the shiny black beetles attached to their faces, she smiled as she left the building. Outside, she breathed in some of the beautiful fresh air, loving the cool breeze on her skimpy violet skirt. She looked down at the sheer fabric with a grimace. She bought this skirt especially for _him_. Ugh. She wanted to just tear the stupid thing off.

About to walk down the block, she turned right into the man himself. Nathan.

Before she could get her insults out, a loud smack resonated through the deserted streets. He slapped her! Whoa, wait a minute… _He_ slapped _her_? Shouldn't it be the other way around?

"You actually thought I wouldn't know about it? That I wouldn't find out about how you were trying to kill the entire reason for this job. The entire reason I exist today? Especially when you ask me to be a part of the plan? How could you?" Nathan said.

She looked at him as though he were crazy. "Um, excuse me, but didn't you say that I was to get rid of the Elena Gilbert girl?"

"What are you talking about? That wasn't Elena that was Katherine!"

She shook her head. "No… I teach her class. I know that's Elena. She's human."

"Stop playing mind games with me, little missy. I know what you're up to."

'Little missy'? Did he actually just call her that? As she was about to punch the jerk, she noticed something rather surprising.

A few blocks away, that vampire - Stefan - and the other witch were completely making out. Huh, she thought the Elena girl and him were going out. She filed it away for future use then turned back to Nathan. Only to see that he already sped away. Stupid vampires.

* * *

Walking back from the police station, Stefan's mind was racing. Even through everything that happened tonight, his mind was still on the Elena and Katherine problem.

"I understand that she's upset, but why would she continually ignore me? I explained to her what happened, but it seems as though she doesn't care." He said to Bonnie, who was walking beside him.

She shook her head. "I don't know. She'd usually listen; she always did for me and her friends. I'll talk to her about it."

He sighed, "Thank you, Bonnie."

"Stefan-"

"I just don't understand why she's putting so much distance between us. I made a mistake, but I'm trying so hard for her repentance."

"Yeah, I get that. But I have to say-"

"And of course she wouldn't tell me, or even you! She's blocking off all of her friends also."

"Really, Stefan, I have to-"

"I'll just have to be patient. But why would-"

Stefan was cut off by the faint pressure of Bonnie's lips forming to his. It started sweet and gentle, but soon he was overwhelmed by the hunger she showed. Hunger for _him_. Not even Elena showed that with him. Katherine, of course, kissed him like that, but only because she probably wanted to eat him. He was about to break away, anyway; Bonnie was Elena's friend and this was not a way to earn her forgiveness. But then he felt a small tug in his chest, like a pinpoint of pressure he only experienced in the presence of Elena.

He needed comfort. He was feeling so lonely these days and he needed help with the problems that had him confused in his thoughts frequently.

He kissed her back. Hungrily.

A loud noise came from the station then a sound like the scuttling of tiny feet. He was about to pull away, but she wrapped her arms around his neck, tugging at his hair. The noise forgotten, he settled blissfully into his comforting distraction. Even when the screams started.

* * *

Flipping through channels on the couch in the living room, Damon took a sip of the scotch that was sitting loosely in his hand. Elena was sitting awkwardly at the kitchen counter, fidgeting. Her back was uncomfortably straight, facing Damon, as she tasted the soda she got herself. Damon ask her, of course, if she'd like to take a seat next to him on the couch, but she declined, saying something about how the last time they were alone on a couch worked out _so_ well.

He laid down fully on the couch, his head resting against the leather arm. "Elena…" He said in a sing-song voice.

She stiffened even more than she already was. "Yes?"

"You're not helping me as I try to be the best host possible. Your comfort is my number one priority. What can _I_ do for _you_?"

"Cut the crap, Damon."

"I mean it, sincerely."

She turned halfway back to catch a glimpse of him, grimacing. Damon was surprised at how quickly she succumbed though, merely three minutes after he asked. She must be getting either more comfortable around him, or sitting in that chair was _really_ uncomfortable.

Sliding into the matching leather love seat beside him, she started relaxing. A few minutes later, her feet were propped up on one arm and her head was hanging off the other arm. Sneaking up to her, he picked her up in the same position she was in, swiveled her around so that he was on the side of the seat. He sat down, moving into a comfortable position and shifted Elena into her previous position.

"Uh, Damon. Get away from me."

"Just being the best host possible. I'm sure you feel extra comfortable now."

She sighed. "Whatever, if you do anything to me while I'm asleep…"

"Pff, what do you think I am: a perverted psychopath with no redeeming qualities?"

"Seriously, Damon."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. You're no fun." He pouted.

She rolled her eyes then closed them, relaxing against Damon's chest. After a few minutes of waiting her to fall asleep so he could bring her to his room, he couldn't stand it any longer. She looked so vulnerable, breathing steadily as she slowly fell asleep. Her lips were slightly open, begging him to take advantage of the situation. Slowly, he bent down, longing pushing him to do it. He lightly pressed his lips against hers, savoring her taste and wanting more.

Her eyes flew open as he slipped his tongue between her lips. "Dam-"

He didn't let her finish, but continued kissing her slowly. Desire filled him up, so he started rubbing slow circles across her thigh. Her protests slid into a moan that caught Damon off guard. He pulled back for a second, memorizing her expression, then flipped himself on top of her. She ran her hands across his shoulders, sliding them behind his neck and clutching the hair there. He grabbed her legs and swung them around his waist, reveling in her surprised moan. He was clutching her face as the kiss was quickly becoming more intense, stopping when his fangs slid out and his eyes changed with a different kind of hunger. She barely noticed, trying to bring him back to her lips. Instead, he carefully started kissing the hollow beneath her neck, traveling up to her neck and started sucking on her ear.

Pulling himself back, he smiled when Elena gave a disgruntled groan, and lifted her up, speeding toward his bedroom.

* * *

All of the horrid stories Stefan told in his diary was extraordinarily boring. His afterlife must be _terrible_. Each year was all loneliness and how Damon tortures him and how utterly without purpose his life is. Katherine almost felt remorse for changing him, seeing as though all he did was complain about how lonely he is then he falls in love… Yeah, there was a problem with that. I don't know, maybe because the girl looked _exactly like her_! Sure, he said repeatedly that she was _so_ much different, so much more _caring_ and _compassionate_. Then how his love life was in turmoil every five minutes. I mean, can't you at least keep the girl you _so_ in love with? And then, how she was ignoring him and how all his little human friends were mysteriously disappearing or being hospitalized. The only interesting thing about the lousy piece of parchment and leather bounding is the part when it talks about Damon's complete and utter love for her and that he was trying to get her out of the tomb! Also, that he was killing people and deceived his way onto the Council. But, of course, then he has to start being 'friends' with the replacement her. Though it was entertaining to read about how jealous Stefan was becoming, saying that 'history will not repeat itself'. Yeah, _right_. Of course it will if you have a girl that looks exactly like the one before!

She was getting annoyed and bored with Stefan's room, though the picture of her was fascinating. She sped over to Damon's room to sort through his things, surprised by the noise downstairs. She was checking up on them, making sure they don't come upstairs, but they were extremely boring, pretty much doing nothing. Now, though, it sounded like they were… enjoying each other's company. She bit her lip, trying to stop the laugh that was bubbling inside of her.

She sat down of one of the chairs by the desk, waiting for the show. After a few minutes, she wasn't disappointed.

They barreled through the door, unable to pry themselves off of each other. She felt herself getting slightly nauseous as they fell onto the bed, Damon switching theirs positions into more comfortable ones. He started grinding against the girl and her against him. Uh, Katherine didn't really want to see the _entire_ show. He started tearing his shirt off, the sight stopped Katherine from making her presence known for a second. Wow, he really filled out. Then the sight of _Elena_ taking her shirt off in response made her clear her throat, surprised that Damon didn't notice her already.

He whipped his head around, glaring at Katherine. She rolled her eyes, guys could be so dramatic. He was really making that obvious by how he crouched in front of _Elena_ protectively. She smiled, sped toward _Elena_, and threw her into the wall opposite them, knocking her out.

Damon started to speed toward her, but she held out a hand, stopping Damon in the process.

"I am older, stronger, and, let's face it, smarter than you, so you better listen. Really, this offer is one of those limited time ones, so listen very closely, Damon. I've seen what you can do and I've read that you have a significant position on the Council. I was thinking…" She started sliding her finger across his chest. "that I could take you back. But only for a couple of decades or so. You playthings get boring and predictable after a while." She looked back to _Elena_, grimacing. "I'm sure you will make the perfect decision, Damon. And so, I shall leave you while you decide."

She left before he could say a word.

* * *

**A/N: Thank you guys, again, for the alerts and reviews... Hope you like it, if you do - review.**


	8. Chapter 6: Unusual Kindness

_Unusual Kindness_

Blood. It was covering everything he saw, gushing from her head. It was the first time he didn't even feel the hunger come from being so close to human blood. It was staining his bed sheets, but he didn't even notice. It coated her face, drying slowly.

He didn't know what to do, couldn't even think. But time was dwindling. His mind was whirling with thoughts of Katherine's proposition and taunts, thinking about what she said. He shook his head to clear it, looking down on Elena. Nobody he knew would ever forgive him if he let her die, which is what she was doing - dying. Thoughts of Elena, stone cold and pale, lying in a coffin, protruded through his mind.

That's what woke him from his daze. Damon pushed a strand of her hair away from her blood-drenched face. The ER wouldn't help her in time, so calling 911 was out. It was a head injury, so that's why there was so much blood. Though it still meant that she would die, Katherine's strength made sure of that. He forgot how completely fragile humans could be.

There was only one option, really, even though there was a risk of her becoming a vampire.

He pricked his wrist with his teeth, letting his blood stream out, and placed it in her mouth, forcing her to drink.

She gagged at first, unwilling. Then something shifted in her, and she started to gulp up the running liquid hungrily. He felt the tugging through his veins, the uncomfortable sense of the blood being taken from him. Thinking she had an adequate amount in her system now, he gently pulled her away from his wrist, breathing a sigh of relief as his wound healed up. He looked up to her, watching closely as the gash in her head healed also, sighing again in relief. The blood was still there though, soaking through everything he could see.

Standing up slowly, he gingerly picked Elena up and into the bathroom. After closing the door, he laid her on the shower floor and started the stream of water. Lovely; how was he supposed to clean her off without taking off her clothes? Not that he minded, just that Elena would freak if she realized this afterward. He supposed that starting with cleaning her clothes first would be innocent enough. After starting this though, he realized this proved difficult also - her clothes were sticking to her skin. This was not only tempting him to do less honorable things, but was also making it hard to clean the blood off. He sighed to himself and shrugged. Well, he was just going to have to take them off.

Stripping off her clothes, he tried to look at this in a medical perspective. This was obviously necessary to...what? It's not like she couldn't get a shower in the morning or anything. So why did he have to do this, when Elena would clearly disapprove? Well, Stefan would freak if he saw her covered in blood, that was for sure. So this was necessary to keep Stefan from worrying more than usual, of course. No other reason. Not at all.

Once Elena was completely bare, he stepped into the large shower with her and started scrubbing soap over her stomach. That's when things got awkward. Elena seemed to find that that was the time to become conscious once again, her eyes opening quickly once she felt the water dripping off her bare body and Damon holding her. She stared at him, wide-eyed, and all he could give was an impish grin. She jumped out of his arms with a yelp then seemed to realize she was covered in her own blood. Damon was hoping this would make her pass out again, seeing her blood coat her entire body, but she merely sat back down in a daze. Damon moved toward her, about to push back a strand of hair that came loose, but she stopped him before he could. She crossed her arms in front of chest, trying to cover herself, and took a deep breath. Damon braced himself for the lecture.

"Damon...why am I naked and covered in blood in a shower with you? And please give a reasonable answer.", she insisted.

"Well... you see, Katherine hurt you so badly, and I couldn't stand the thought of you waking up in your own blood and panicking. Also, I'm sure you know Stefan would be better off not knowing about this little incident." He tried to be as much charm as possible, but Elena wasn't caving.

"Uh-huh. So, you made this decision to make sure Stefan and I wouldn't _panic_. Though finding out I was in the shower with you naked would be perfectly fine with me?" Damon opened his mouth to respond, but she cut him off. "-And don't say I wouldn't mind."

"But it didn't seemed like you minded much after our brief encounter before..."

"That was before."

"What's different now?"

"Katherine"

He huffed in frustration. "What about Katherine?"

"I know you can't resist her, even though she treats you like a plaything."

He stopped the stream of water and looked her in the eye. She turned her head, embarrassed by the intensity of his gaze, but he didn't relent. "I love you and ever since I realized it, I don't even think of Katherine anymore other than how she's a crazy slut that messes with people and hurts them without thinking. You're the only one I care about, Elena. You make me feel almost human."

Though the shower stopped, water still dripped off her eyelashes - or was that tears? Either way, there was a look of sadness and almost hope in her expression. He wished he could read her mind just then.

"I... I think I love you too, though I know it's not right. But, I... I feel so much passion around you, like I'll explode. And every time you look at me there's a connection." She sighed, " This sounds so cliche, but I hate to admit it's true." He chuckled, and she playfully swatted him in the arm. "Oh, don't make fun of me!"

Damon shook his head, "I'm not. I'm just happy that you've finally admitted it."

She took another deep breath and looked him in the eye. " This doesn't mean that I approve of getting a shower with you - so get out."

He smiled and consented, going back to his bedroom and, tired, ignored the bloody mess and face-planted onto his bed.

* * *

Lila slumped onto a barstool at the Grill, wiped from using so much magic all night. All her thoughts were circulating around how she should have eliminated the witch girl and the Stefan boy while they were distracted, but couldn't because she was only thinking of Nathan. Ugh, that was all she could think about since that night with him. Hell, he was all she could think about since she met him. God, she didn't need some crazy-ass vamp to mess her life up anymore.

Three beers (and a helluva lot of fantasies about killing Nathan) later, a man with bright red hair and blue eyes sat next to her. He called down the bartender.

"Excuse me, do you happen to know if a man name Nathan Brown is in Mystic Falls?" He asked the bartender, who shook his head, and shocked Lila.

The man sighed and was about to leave. "Wait!" She said. She didn't know if she should give away Nathan location, but then remembered she hated him and thought any way to make him miserable would be pleasant for her.

"Um, I know who he is. He's... uh, probably at the local Marriot five miles down the main road." She said uncertainly because of his intense stare.

He nodded in thanks then cocked his head to the side. "Wait, how do you know him if the bartender didn't?"

"Well, he doesn't come to the bar a lot."

He started chuckling, "Ah, it seems you don't know him well."

She stared at him. "What do you mean?"

"He's a complete alcoholic and love-struck mess."

She shook her head. "The Mr. Brown- I mean Nathan, that I know is completely professional. Well, not completely. I think he's a bit insane, but only mildly."

Now he shook his head, "He must have really put himself together then, because the last time I saw him was...well, it was disgusting."

"Huh," was all she could say.

As he was about to walk off, murmuring a "thanks", she muttered under her breath, "He's 'disgusting', but still too good for me."

The man stopped in his place. "Oh, you have no idea how much better you are than him."

She looked up, wondering how he heard her then realizing a moment later. "You're a vamp, aren't you?"

He held out his hand. "I'm Mason. Pleasure to meet you...?"

"Lila." She took his hand, and felt a smile spreading because of her new plan. "Lila Cavanaugh."

* * *

Stefan woke to the sound of the bathroom door being shut. His eyes flew open as his vampire instincts kicked in. He looked around the unfamiliar room in confusion before remembering last night. Bonnie. He remembered everything: kissing her in front of the police station, following her to her house, and sleeping here overnight. They didn't have sex, but got dangerously close to.

He couldn't stand the thought of all that he did recently. He hurt Elena by sleeping with Katherine accidentally and just spent the night with Elena's best friend, even though he did, surprisingly, care about Bonnie.

This was too much. He ran home, leaving Bonnie in the shower, oblivious. When he arrived, a strange smell permeated the air. He sped up the stairs and passed the guest room. Elena lay there, snuggled in the heavy sheets, looking so peaceful. He smiled to himself then was about to go to his room before he remembered the weird smell. He passed his room, the bathroom, and another guest room with no trouble. Yet when he proceeded to Damon's room, nothing prepared him for the catastrophe that lay there. Blood was everywhere: the bed, the floor, the walls, and Damon himself who was lying on top of the soaked sheets, sleeping soundly.

He shook his brother until he came to, rubbing his eyes.

All Damon said was a bleary "What?"

"What do you think, Damon!"

Damon sat up and looked around, muttering.

"What happened? Did someone hurt you?"

Damon suddenly jumped up and headed to the bathroom, speaking over his shoulder. "Oh, don't worry little bro, it's not _my_ blood."

Stefan paced around, worrying, constantly worrying. Who's blood was it? Why was Damon's room covered in blood, if it wasn't his? These thoughts and questions swirled inside his head. He spun around to the guest room Elena was currently occupying. Once he was beside her bed, he shook her awake. Her eyes fluttered opened and his heart thumped painfully. Though complications kept them apart and he was serious about Bonnie, a part of him still loved Elena.

"Stefan? What's wrong?"

"Do you know what happened to Damon's room?"

"What- Oh! Um..." Her face shifted once she looked over his shoulder.

He spun around to see Damon in only a towel. His hair was still dry and he was covered in blood, so he clearly didn't get in the shower yet. Stefan barely caught him shaking his head. Yet once Stefan faced him, Damon plastered an innocent expression on his face.

"Sorry, just checking in on you two. Don't want to cut in on your conversation, but Elena should get more sleep. Since it was a long night and all..."

"Well-"

Elena cut Stefan off. "Yes, that's a good idea. Sorry Stefan, but I really should get some rest."

Elena laid back down and Damon got into the shower. Stefan stepped into his room, detecting a strangely familiar scent. He shrugged it off, becoming entirely too confused. What was going on with these two?

* * *

A knock at the door. A groan from the other side. Shuffling and a thump. The door opened.

Nathan Brown faced Katherine Pierce.

It was night, and Katherine thought a lot after her meeting with Damon last night. Though she didn't try to kill Elena last night, she realized she should to help Damon with deciding. That was what led her to this hotel and room. The vampire in front of her might be inexperienced, but he seemed to do well at causing chaos for the Salvatore Brothers and their Human Friends.

His black hair stuck up in tufts and he was only in boxers, but his eyes were very alert as he stared at her.

She took a deep breath and began, "I saw what happened last night and how your plan failed, but I think it was actually worth retrying, if you get rid of the insignificant witch." She held her hands in front of her chest, trying to look businesslike. "Here is my proposal: we get rid of Elena's little friends, kill Elena, and then I can toy with the two brothers until eternity is over. Understand?"

"I- Um, I already rid her of her friends, except the witch friend escaped. I will accept your proposal, but don't you remember me? From that night?"

"Huh? You mean last night?" Katherine was becoming disconcerted by his intent gaze.

"No, _that_ night. Over a hundred-and-forty-five years ago, you turned me. I was the guard in front of the church that helped you escaped, don't you remember me?"

"Uh, yeah… Of course I do. Your…?"

"Nathan Brown"

"Right. Nathan Brown." Katherine was thinking of just dumping this idea, especially with him looking so intently at her, but if he was this infatuated already it might be put to good use. She leaned forward placing her fingertips on his chest.

"So, do you want to help me?" She put as much allure as possible in the sentence. It worked, he was all but drooling over her. She almost considered sleeping with him to secure his loyalty, but decided against it. She needed to be in tiptop shape for Damon when he did the delicious things he could do to her.

"I'll help." A new plan was forming in her head as she lightly kissed him at the edge of his lips.

* * *

The moon shone over the Salvatore's meadow-like backyard. It was a breathtaking twilight, with fireflies dancing across the trees. Elena could see a shadow near the small pond in the back of the yard. She quietly made her way to Damon, trying to sneak up on him, but he caught her as she was a couple of feet away.

"What're you doing out here?" He said.

"I wanted to talk about last night."

He started pacing, "You're right. We should still be cautious because the vampire is still out there, even though Lila is locked up. You should stay at our house, so we can protect you better in our own territory. Though it was weird that he caught you at the bridge, but we can't stop looking after you because we're confused about his intentions."

She waited until his ranting was over. "You know that wasn't what I meant."

He turned toward her, finally, and raised an eyebrow. She took a couple more steps until they were face to face. She stood on her toes as she rose to kiss him. When her eyes closed, she felt dizzy and held on to his shoulders. Passion swirled around her; fireworks, wanting, needing to get closer to him was all that she wanted. Their tongues collided, and she was surprised by the unguarded groan that escaped him.

Completely distracted, she almost didn't notice the patio door shut and the footsteps that were drawing closer…

* * *

_Hey, sorry for taking so long to get back to you guys, but I'm going to continue with more chapters for summer. Hope you like it!_


	9. Chapter 7: Uncanny Plans

_Uncanny Plans_

_[__Damon] turned toward [Elena], finally, and raised an eyebrow. She took a couple more steps until they were face to face. She stood on her toes as she rose to kiss him. When her eyes closed, she felt dizzy and held on to his shoulders. Passion swirled around her; fireworks, wanting, needing to get closer to him was all that she wanted. Their tongues collided, and she was surprised by the unguarded groan that escaped him. _

_Completely distracted, she almost didn't notice the patio door shut and the footsteps that were drawing closer…_

* * *

Wow. Stefan wasn't kidding. Elena really _was_ falling for Damon, as revealed by the two of them totally making out in his backyard. Bonnie wanted to warn her against him, but she was too relieved of the guilt that plagued her since that night with Stefan. She really didn't want to go behind Elena's back and be with Stefan, but since this drama that has tormented them all recently, she couldn't help herself.

Oh, well. It didn't really matter, since Stefan left without a word this morning. Maybe he was having second thoughts as well. His mixed signals didn't deter her from coming to his house, though, intent on clearing things up with him. She was about to step away from the happy couple, but Elena already caught sight of her.

"Bonnie. Um," Elena blushed deep red, clearing her throat. "What're you doing here?"

Bonnie gave an uncomfortable smile, looking down at the ground. "Oh, I was just looking for Stefan. I didn't mean to intrude on you two. I'll just go now."

"The park in town." It was Damon who spoke. He straightened the tufts of hair that was sticking up, due to Elena and his encounter. "Stefan said he was going there to 'think,' whatever that means."

"Oh," Thank God he was all right; she was starting to worry. "Thanks, I'll just leave now."

She got out of there before anyone stopped her. She was happy for Elena and Damon _did_ save her life, but he still scared her to death.

Driving slowly on the road, she watched carefully for deer. This was the time of year that they came out the most. After a few miles, though, she shrugged and sped up. She'd been driving these roads for a couple of years now and knew what to do if she crashed. Right now, she didn't care about precautions. All she wanted was to speak with Stefan. She hated feeling so excessively needy, but she missed him.

A headache came to her, causing even more grief. She was at her limit, especially with the Lila witch being in the same region, conflicting with her powers. The headache spread through her head to her chest. Now her chest was hurting? What was going on? She was too exhausted to think about the source of the pain, spreading down to her legs.

The burning sensation seared throughout her entire body, causing her hand to slip from the wheel. She screamed as the car swerved off the road, through the trees of the forest and over a small hill separating the road from the lake. She couldn't move, the pain was so blinding. Before the car could drive into the lake, it crashed into a wide oak tree. The pain expanded sevenfold, and she blacked-out.

* * *

Once Bonnie left, Elena could see Damon turn to her in the corner of her eye. She took a deep breath, preparing to explain what was going to happen now between the two of them. Before she had a chance to, though, Damon laid his hands on her arms gently then pulled her to him not-so-gently. He kissed her roughly, passionately, yet his hands stayed soft and gentle. His fingertips lightly traced down her arm to her hand, twining her hand in his. His other hand lifted to cup her cheek. She was becoming dizzy, once again, by the fluttering riot in her stomach. She could feel his kisses down to her core. Her heart felt like it was about to burst and she was forgetting how to breathe.

She pulled away for a moment, taking another breath and looking into his eyes. He looked almost hungry, the way he watched at her with fascination. The color of his eyes were so much darker in the little light the backyard had, but she could still see the bright blue through the darkness. She wanted to memorize his face, the beautiful features that made her heart stop, but one thing was stopping her - her desire to kiss him. This time Katherine wouldn't interrupt, wouldn't stop them from finishing what they started.

She kissed him back, intent on never stopping. She grinned as he moaned, his voice vibrating throughout her. She started unbuttoning the top of his shirt, wanting to just rip his clothes off, but before she had a chance to, he sped up to his room.

They were in his room again. Elena hoped this time she wouldn't end up bleeding her life out all over the duvet cover. He cleaned the room completely, nothing was out of place. She could smell the clean scent of his bedsheets as he laid her gently onto the bed. He settled on top of her, being careful not to hurt her. She was going to remove his shirt, but he beat her to it. She ran her hands up and down his smooth chest instead, reveling in his beauty. He started kissing her neck, moving down to her shirt, removing it for her. A blush was starting to creep up her neck as he took off her pants.

There she was, bare except for her lace bra and panties set. She was somewhat embarrassed, though she'd done it before, because it was Damon. He knew exactly what he was doing, yet she could hear his breath catch as he stared at her. She bit her lip, watching his reaction. His gaze traveled up and down her body and landed on her face. He kept his eyes locked on hers as he took off his own pants. She started breathing heavily when he settled on her with only scarlet boxers covering him.

Elena was almost drooling as she gazed at him. He was so magnificently gorgeous. He was so gentle, yet still had that impish glint in his eyes as his eyes roved over her body. He was so… Damon. She couldn't imagine why she would care for Stefan so much when his brother was there, always there with a sarcastic comment and mischievous ideas. He was always there for her, to help her, to save her. She was no damsel, but she did get into her fair share of danger. And he was always there to get her out...

Elena woke to find Damon overtop of her, covering the top of her bare body. She snuggled closer to him, her mind in a state of bliss. She traced her fingertips over his chest, her heart thudding against her chest. She sat up to stretch, reaching her hands far above her. She turned back to Damon, but found Stefan watching her with wide eyes in the doorway. His face showed the strongest betrayal. She was going to explain, but he sped out of the room.

"Wait!" She called out to him. She jumped out of the bed, pulling on her shirt and underwear. She ran down the stairs and found him in the kitchen. He didn't even look at her as he walked into the living room. She came up from behind him and shook his shoulders. He just shook his head and continued walking. She rolled her eyes in distaste, knowing he wanted to speak with her or he would've gotten out of the house already.

She put her hands on her hips. "So I can't even get the chance to explain?"

He finally looked up at her and shrugged. "What's there to explain?"

"How about the fact that Bonnie stopped here last night, looking for you? She seemed pretty worried."

His eyes widened slightly. "I can't think of a reason why she would need to see me."

She rolled her eyes again. "So you haven't been seeing her?"

He shook his head. She waited a few moments, sure he was going to cave.

He did.

Stefan stood up, raising his hands in surrender. "Yes, all right? We were together two nights ago, after we threw Lila in jail! Though we didn't have sex like the two of you did!"

Of course, that was when Damon decided to come into the room. His hair was cute and rumpled with sleep, making Elena's heart stutter. He rubbed his eyes and looked at Stefan like he was mentally incompetent.

"You and Bonnie…?" Damon said.

Stefan only looked at him with disgust and ran out of the house, leaving Elena feeling disgruntled and even more confused.

* * *

Who knew that taking a teenage witch of out a car would be so _difficult_. Lila struggled to get the unconscious Bonnie-girl out of her car without damaging her _too_ much. The results were disastrous. She must've hit the poor girl's head fifteen times, and she wasn't even close to the orange Public Storage unit behind her. After ten minutes of taking a break, praying to God, and lighting a cigarette, she started working again. She popped the other witch out of the backseat and into the stolen storage unit with ease. Maybe those prayers to God helped. Then she stopped and thought about that for a minute.

Nah, it must've been the cigarette.

Getting down to Tennessee was difficult enough with the traffic and the witch's unconscious body in the back seat. She was stupid enough to forget to put her in the trunk, and was stressing the whole way there. She promised herself that she wouldn't mess up this time, with Mason's friendship and Nathan's vengeance on the line.

She turned around to see the poor girl lying on a mildewy couch the owners of the unit must've forgotten about. She was rethinking doing this, but remembered how crazy it got before, when the witch was involved. Lila didn't want the girl to be a nuisance in her plan.

She closed the metal door in the mid-afternoon heat, feeling guilty, then walked around to the driver's side of her purple Subaru. The door shut with a click, and then she was off, back to Mystic Falls. There was, yet again, _another_ party 'honoring the founders of Mystic Falls'. This time it was for Benjamin Lockwood, the first mayor. Whoop-Dee-do, this should be fun. At least it would be easier to get rid of the innocent townspeople and find Nathan with this party distracting them.

Three hours later (she was a fast driver), and she was pulling up to the Lockwood's mansion. She parked and walked in, aware of the multicolored blinking lights (the party was supposed to be for they're dead first mayor and it looked like a club? Really?) and the aroma of expensive catered food. She went straight for the food and found Mason there. She gave a grin at his appearance. He was clearly nervous, stuffing his mouth with as much food as it could hold. He turned toward her and blushed at her grin. He was strange, granted, but kind of cute and completely different from Nathan.

She watched the dance floor and waited for the right time to start their plan.

* * *

Katherine watched them, the little fools walk into the party like it was for them. _Damon and Elena_. The lovebirds of Mystic Falls. Oh, Damon was going to pay for humiliating her, as was Elena. Though the plan for Elena's demise was already in action. That will be the only way to get rid of Stefan and Damon's infatuation with Elena, to kill her. Well, for her little Nathan to kill her, so the brothers will come running for Katherine, grief-stricken. She'll welcome them with open arms, forgiving their horrible choices. She smiled, happy with the outcome she was planning. She was absolutely tired of having to pretend to be _Elena_ to fool Stefan and Damon to kiss her or worse.

She sighed and slinked through the shadows of the party towards her little Nathan. She was surprised by his competence, how he got rid of the boy werewolf precisely as she asked. He was so cute, the way he looked at her in utter adoration. So naive.

Once she found Nathan by the bar, she carefully whispered in his ear. "Incapacitate Damon, but don't kill him. Do it when Elena isn't near, for I have other plans for her."

Nathan nodded and stalked towards the backyard to watch the other vampire. She smiled at his cooperation and ordered a pomegranate martini, waiting for everything to fall into place.

* * *

"I'm going to get a drink" Elena said to Damon, almost running to the bar. She had to clear her head, and get out of his vicinity. Coming here, to the party, sounded like an innocent enough idea, yet it was impossible for Elena to keep her hands off of Damon. After that morning, she felt like there were no barriers between the two of them. She only wanted to have him to herself, then felt guilty for thinking it. Stefan was still a problem and was refusing to talk to her and ignoring her phone calls.

Speaking of the devil, Stefan strode into the room, apparently searching for something. Once he caught sight of Elena, he walked quickly to her side. A strange gleam was in his eye, almost madness. Another stroke of guilt hit her.

"I am so sorry-" She started, but he cut her off, brusque.

"Never-mind that. Do you know where Bonnie is?"

"Bonnie?" Her head swirled in confusion. "I… don't know. Why?"

"I've been calling her all day and even visited her house, but she's just gone. Missing."

She almost groaned. There was so much drama happening to her and her friends. A least this meant Stefan moved on. She went to help Stefan find her.

* * *

_So many parties, why are there_ so many_ Founder's parties? _Damon thought to himself, fixing his hair in the nearby window's glass. He watched Elena in the reflection as she started speaking with Stefan at the bar. He sighed, _better leave them alone for a while_. He went to the garden outside the mansion.

It was small, the garden, but the smell of the blend of flowers was very potent to Damon's sensitive nose. He reveled in the peace he felt in the midst of the greenery. He walked toward the apple tree in the middle of the garden and picked one red fruit. He took a giant bite, juice dripping down his chin.

He heard rustling and turned around carefully. A man with orange hair and a mass of freckles came his way. He sidestepped some rosebushes and met Damon at the tree.

The man, a vampire Damon could tell, grabbed his hand in a shake. "My name's Mason, and I've been told that you and I have a mutual enemy." The man stopped, looking him up and down. "You think you can help me out with him?"

Damon was caught by surprise, but only gave a sardonic smile. "Which mutual enemy are we talking about here? I have so many enemies, I can't keep track of them all."

The vampire - Mason - grinned back. "Nathan Brown. He owes me some money, from before moving here to Mystic Falls, and he hurt a friend of mine. I came here to collect the debt he owes me."

Damon shrugged, but inwardly he was sizing Mason up. He looked harmless enough, but appearances can be deceiving. He stuck out him hand in agreement (at least giving the impression of agreement) and shook on it.

Something was wrong though. A blur sped in the corner of his eye, and just as Damon caught sight of Nathan himself, Nathan broke Damon's neck in one move. All he could think of, though, was, _Elena_. He slumped to the ground, blacking-out.

* * *

**A couple more chapters and the story will end. Thanks for your support and patience. I hope you'll enjoy this chapter. Next one will come up in the summer or earlier.**


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